Biology 120 Environmental Biology Fall 2006

Instructor: Bob Remedi
Office: C-145
Phone: (847) 543-2326
E-mail: Remedi@clcillinois.edu
Website: http://clcpages.clcillinois.edu/home/bio567
Office Hours: Summer office hours will be by appointment

Course Definition:
This course focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment. Topics include ecology, population biology, modification of our environment, resource use, land use planning, pollution and energy. The goal is to better understand the biological and social problems that human use and misuse of the environment cause. NOTE: Local field trips will be held during some scheduled lab periods. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the field sites. Recommended for non-science majors who need a one-semester lab science course. IAI: L1 905L

Prerequisite:
Language and math proficiency.

Texts and Required Materials:
- Cunningham, William and Mary Ann Cunningham, Principles of Environmental Science, Inquire and
Applications, (2006) McGraw Hill Publishers
- Cartwright, Kelly et al, (2006) Environmental Biology (5th Edition)
- eInstruction CPS response pad
- This pad will allow students to answer questions in class and receive instant feedback on how well
they understand the material. It is essential that students bring the pad to class EVERY DAY. In
order to use this properly, students will need to know their CLC e-mail address (talked about shortly).
- #2 pencils (preferably mechanical pencils), good erasers and/or liquid correction fluid

Suggested Materials
- Various study materials (3x5 cards, highlighters, etc.)

Grading:
Points in this class are earned from a number of exercises including; three lecture tests (each worth between 75-100 pts.), a comprehensive final exam (worth around 100 points), occasional lecture quizzes, eInstruction questions at the beginning of some classes, research papers, class projects, lab exercises and lab quizzes every week.. Students can also earn up to 5 points of extra credit by completing one article review summary with a classroom presentation with no more than 1 presentation given per day and no presentations the last two weeks of the semester. Lecture tests and quizzes will be in the form of multiple choice, fill-in and short answer / essay questions, and will be announced in class at least one class period before the quiz or test. However, pop quizzes may be required if students are not consistently prepared. Lab quizzes will be made up of fill-in or essay questions and may not be taken if a student missed the lab. As a rule, quizzes and tests are not curved so it is up to the student to do well throughout the semester. In addition, the lowest regular lab quiz will be dropped.

Grading Scale:
A = 100% to 90% B = 89% to 80% C = 79% to 70% D = 69% to 60% F = < 60% Percentage is calculated by dividing the number of points that were received by the number of points possible, and multiplying that number by 100. For example, if a student has 256 points out of 300 points possible: 256/300 = .85 then .85 x 100 = 85%
You are responsible for keeping track of your own point total **

Attendance:
Biology 120, Environmental Biology, is designed as a class to prepare people from a variety of backgrounds to understand some important concepts of environmental biology and prepare those who successfully complete to course to be intelligent, responsible members of society. Therefore, this class will require dedication in order to master. Because of this, the student should make every effort to attend class and BE ON TIME, every time. Any student who misses class is responsible for obtaining all information that was presented during the class(es), or portion of the class missed. In addition, attendance will be collected at the end of each class, including lab. If a student is unexcused for more than one class, the student's grade will drop by 5 points for each additional class missed and ineligibility for extra credit. In addition, being late by more than 10 minutes or leaving class early, will result in the recording of ½ an absence. Excused absences and excused reasons for being late or leaving early do not count against attendance (illness, family emergency, court, etc.) but in order to be excused, the instructor must be informed as soon as possible and may require proof. The final decision concerning whether an absence is excused or not is at the discretion of the instructor.

Labs:
Most of the labs will be conducted at one of a number of field sites and students are responsible for providing their own transportation. Most types of foul weather will not stop us so dress for the conditions and be prepared for conditions to change. In addition, boots aren't a requirement, but walking shoes that you don't mind getting muddy or dirty are recommended. A quiz covering material learned on the labs will be given during the lecture period immediately following the lab and the lab questions may also be collected at that time, so students are expected to bring their completed labs to class every day. Students are also expected to adhere to the code of student conduct while away on field trips and are not allowed to smoke, even when outside.

Withdrawal from Class:
Students who are having difficulty in the class are encouraged to talk with the instructor, in order to work together to identify the problem and come up with a solution. However, it is the student's responsibility to officially withdraw if they do not wish to receive a grade for the course. The benefit of withdrawing is that if a student is doing poorly, the grade from that class will not be factored into their GPA. Instead, a "W" will be placed next to the class on their transcript. Unfortunately, a student will not receive a refund if he/she withdraws after the 14th day of the semester (7th day of summer school) and financial aid may be lost. In order to withdraw, call the automated student information system at (847) 223-1111, go to http://www.clcillinois.edu/selfserv.asp, or go to the office of Admissions and Records (B-101). If the student does not officially withdraw from class and they just stop showing up, their final grade will be calculated using the points that have accumulated, divided by the same number of possible points as the rest of the class. Please don't just stop showing up for class! The last day to withdraw from class and receive a refund will be September7, 2006, while the absolute last day to withdraw will be November 8, 2006. Attempts to withdraw after this date will automatically result in an "F".

Make-up exams:
Students are expected to be on time and in class every day, especially test or quiz days. Exceptions only involve excused absences, which may require proof. Students are allowed one make-up lecture quiz or test, which will be allowed only for excused absences. In addition, make-ups will usually contain significantly more (potentially half or more) fill-in and essay questions. For all lecture quizzes and tests, students have 1 week from the day they return to make up a missed exam (unless the instructor agrees to other arrangements before the deadline). Lab quizzes can't be made up and may not be taken if the student missed the lab, so please make every effort to be there for the quiz. However, the lowest regular lab quiz will be dropped, so if a student misses a lab quiz due to an excused absence, that quiz will be dropped.

Late Policy:
Students who do not turn in work on the day scheduled, must turn it in by the next class period in order to receive partial credit. After this, work will not be accepted unless the instructor agrees to other arrangements before the deadline. In the case of an excused absence, students have one week from the day they return to turn in late work without a penalty. Work will not be accepted after this time unless other arrangements are agreed to before the deadline. In addition, late or makeup work will not be accepted after the final exam.

Cheating and Plagiarism Policy:
The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, the College of Lake County has adopted the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy (#403) and a Statement of Student Academic Integrity. These may be found in the Student Handbook and it is the responsibility of the student to be aware of this policy. Students are expected to maintain a culture of academic integrity and as a result, cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated! The first appearance of cheating will result in a "0" for the assignment/examination and the forwarding of the name and information from the individual to the Student Disciplinary Committee with the recommendation that the student either fails the course or be suspended from school completely. In addition, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Development. Plagiarism is cheating by using the ideas, concepts or words of someone else as your own. This includes work done for homework or in lab. Plagiarism will be treated the same way as cheating. Please don't put your instructor in the position to enforce these rules!

Special needs:
It is estimated that 10% of college students have a disability of some kind. Students with documented
disabilities are encouraged to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities in L115 or call
(847) 543-2474. Accommodations to, "Level the playing field," and give students with disabilities an
equal opportunity to be successful may be available and are much more effective if they are pursued at the
beginning of the semester.

Student E-mail Accounts:
All CLC students are issued a CLC e-mail account. Federal law dictates that only e-mails sent to or from this account may contain personal school or grade-related information. In addition, students will periodically receive class-related information to this address. To set up or modify your E-mail account, go to: http://www.clcillinois.edu/clcemail.asp and follow the instructions.

Additional comments:
- Children will not be allowed in the classroom.
- The classroom is defined as anywhere class is being conducted, including the lecture room, lab room or on field trips.
- Always assume that labs will be held, unless you are contacted directly by the instructor, the college or saw a notice on the instructor's web site.
- Be prepared for weather changes on lab days.
- Don't be late, but if you are, please take a seat as quietly as possible and ask any questions after class.
- Please turn off all telephones and pagers before walking into class, especially on quiz/test days.
- Get in the habit of using formal written English and be prepared to spell words correctly.
Quizzes and tests will have essay and fill-in questions where spelling will count. Spelling counts in the real world and it will count here as well.
- Study from the notes as if the entire quiz or test is made up of essay questions.
- When answering multiple choice questions, read the question with the answers covered up. Think about what the correct answer should be, then compare it to the choices provided.
- Tutoring Center and Writing Center help is available in the LRC (library).

Teaching Philosophy:
I believe that Environmental Biology is extremely interesting, and I will try to keep it from being dry or dull. The material will be set up in a way that will challenge you to think critically and not just "parrot" back answers. This class is not designed as a "blow-off", it is designed to prepare well educated members of society, and therefore it will be challenging! In order to be successful in this class, students must have good reading skills and must be able to commit time to regular reading and studying. Students are especially encouraged to find a group of people with which to study. A general rule of thumb is that for every hour spent in the classroom, at least two hours should be spent reading the text and studying. Will you make this commitment to a class that meets 5 hours per week? This class is set up so that a student who doesn't miss class and sets up an effective, consistent study program should do well. To make sure that this is the case, please feel free to talk to me if you have any questions or would like some extra help. I will always make time to assist a student who is having some difficulty, just ask me!

Tentative Lecture Schedule

1 August 22 Introduction/Syllabus review
What is Environmental Biology and why study it? Chapter 1
Assignment #1 given, Examples of Science and Psuedoscience
Draft due August 28, final draft due August 30

August 24 Science vs. Pseudoscience

Lab: Science Methods Lab Exercise 1
Scientific Method Handout

2 August 28 Peer review of Assignment #1 (15 minutes)
Practice Socratic Seminar - Science vs. Pseudoscience
Science and the Scientific Method Chapter 2 (pp. 4-14)
Lab Handout

August 30 Assignment #1 due at the beginning of class
Science and the Scientific Method Chapter 2 (pp. 4-14)
Science through the Examination of Evidence

Lab: Prairie Lab Lab Exercise 14

3. September 5 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY- NO CLASSES

September 7 Characteristics of Living Things and Taxonomy Chapter 3 (p. 53)
Assignment #2 given, Biome Group Project

Lab: Marsh Lab Lab Exercise 12

4. September 12 Ecosystems, Energy and Trophic Levels Chapter 2 (pp. 33-38)
Food Chains, Food Webs

September 14 Important Ecological Concepts - Nutrient Cycling, Chapter 2 (pp. 38-43)
Niche, Ecological Relationships and Succession

Lab: Beach Lab Lab Exercise 10

5. September 19 Test #1, covering everything through food pyramids

September 21 Succession and Edges
Biomes Chapter 5 (97-107)

Lab: Bog Lab Lab Exercise 11

6. September 26 Student Biome Presentations
Biomes
Assignment #3, Human Population Control given

September 28 Biomes
Biodiversity and Extinction Chapter 5 (pp.108-121)

Lab: Forest Lab Lab Exercise 13

7. October 3 Population Biology and Human Population Issues Chapter 4

October 5 Population Biology and Human Population Issues Chapter 4

Lab: Pond Lab Lab Exercise 9

8. October 10 Assignment #3, Population Control Papers due
Socratic Seminar - Human Population Control - for credit
Complete Human Population Issues Chapter 4

October 12 Test #2, covering succession through Human Population Issues

Lab: DesPlaines Wetlands Lab Exercise 15

9 October 17 Soil, Agriculture and Food Chapter 7
Assignment #4 given, Student Presentations
- Strategies for Protecting the Environment

October 19 Natural Resources Chapter 11

Lab: Population Lab Lab Exercise 2

10 October 24 Water Use and Problems Chapter 10

October 26 Water Use and Problems Chapter 10
Air, Climate and Air Pollution Chapter 9

Lab: Animal Diversity Lab Exercise 4

11 October 31 Air, Climate and Air Pollution Chapter 9

November 2 Energy Chapter 12

Lab: Plant Diversity Lab Exercise 5

12 November 7 Energy Chapter 12

November 9 Test #3 Covering Soil through Energy

Lab: Recycling Center

13 November 14 Solid and Hazardous Waste Chapter 13

November 16 Solid and Hazardous Waste Chapter 13

Lab: Water Pollution

14 November 21 Video

November 23

No Classes or labs for Thanksgiving Break Wednesday, Thursday or Friday

15 November 28 Student Presentations

November 30 Student Presentations

Lab: Water Chemistry Lab Exercise 6

16 December 5 Looking towards the future - Sustainable Living Chapter 14

December 7 Looking towards the future - Sustainable Living Chapter 14

Lab: Air Pollution Lab Exercise 16

Final Exams Section (009) Tuesday December 12, from 10:00 to 11:50
Section (015) Tuesday December 12, from 12:30 to 2:20